Varieties of the color

yellow Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In the R ...

may differ in

hue In color theory, hue is one of the main properties (called Color appearance model#Color appearance parameters, color appearance parameters) of a color, defined technically in the CIECAM02 model as "the degree to which a Stimulus (physiology ...

, chroma (also called saturation, intensity, or colorfulness) or

lightness Lightness is a visual perception of the luminance (L) of an object. It is often judged relative to a similarly lit object. In colorimetry and color appearance models, lightness is a prediction of how an illuminated color will appear to a stan ...

(or value, tone, or

brightness Brightness is an attribute of visual perception in which a source appears to be radiating or reflecting light. In other words, brightness is the perception elicited by the luminance of a visual target. The perception is not linear to luminance, ...

), or in two or three of these qualities. Variations in value are also called

tints and shades In color theory, a tint is a mixture of a color with white, which increases lightness, while a shade is a mixture with black, which increases darkness. Both processes affect the resulting color mixture's relative saturation. A tone is produced ...

, a tint being a yellow or other hue mixed with white, a shade being mixed with black. A large selection of these various colors is shown below.

Computer web color yellow

Yellow (RGB) (X11 yellow) (color wheel yellow)

The color box at right shows the most intense yellow representable in 8-bit

RGB color model The RGB color model is an additive color model in which the red, green and blue primary colors of light are added together in various ways to reproduce a broad array of colors. The name of the model comes from the initials of the three additiv ...

; yellow is a ''secondary'' color in an additive RGB space. This color is also called color wheel yellow. It is at precisely 60 degrees on the HSV color wheel, also known as the RGB color wheel ( Image of RGB color wheel:). Its

complementary color Complementary colors are pairs of colors which, when combined or mixed, cancel each other out (lose hue) by producing a grayscale color like white or black. When placed next to each other, they create the strongest contrast for those two co ...

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...

Yellow (CMYK) (process yellow) (canary yellow)

Process yellow (also called pigment yellow or printer's yellow), also known as canary yellow, is one of the three colors typically used as subtractive

primary color A set (mathematics), set of primary colors or primary colours (see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences) consists of colorants or colored lights that can be mixed in varying amounts to produce a gamu ...

s, along with

magenta Magenta () is a color that is variously defined as pinkish- purplish-red, reddish-purplish-pink or mauvish-crimson. On color wheels of the RGB (additive) and CMY (subtractive) color models, it is located exactly midway between red and blue. I ...

and

cyan Cyan () is the color between green and blue on the visible spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a predominant wavelength between 490 and 520 nm, between the wavelengths of green and blue. In the subtractive color system, or CMYK color ...

. Canary yellow is derived from the colour of an average

canary Canary originally referred to the island of Gran Canaria on the west coast of Africa, and the group of surrounding islands (the Canary Islands). It may also refer to: Animals Birds * Canaries, birds in the genera ''Serinus'' and ''Crithagra'' i ...

bird, though canaries can vary in colour from dark yellow to light pink. Process yellow is not an

RGB The RGB color model is an additive color model in which the red, green and blue primary colors of light are added together in various ways to reproduce a broad array of colors. The name of the model comes from the initials of the three additiv ...

color, and in the

CMYK color model The CMYK color model (also known as process color, or four color) is a subtractive color model, based on the CMY color model, used in color printing, and is also used to describe the printing process itself. The abbreviation ''CMYK'' refers ...

there is no fixed conversion from CMYK primaries to RGB. Different formulations are used for printer's ink, so there can be variations in the printed color that is pure yellow ink. The first recorded use of ''canary yellow'' as a color name in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

was in 1789.

Yellow (NCS) (psychological primary yellow)

The color defined as yellow in the NCS or

Natural Color System The Natural Color System (NCS) is a proprietary perceptual color model. It is based on the color opponency hypothesis of color vision, first proposed by German physiologist Ewald Hering. The current version of the NCS was developed by the Sw ...

is shown at right (NCS 0580-Y). The Natural Color System is a color system based on the four

unique hues Unique hue is a term used in certain theories of color vision, which implies that human perception distinguishes between "unique" (psychologically primary) and composite (mixed) hues. A unique hue is defined as a color which an observer perceive ...

or psychological primary colors red, yellow, green, and blue. The NCS is based on the

opponent process The opponent process is a color theory that states that the human visual system interprets information about color by processing signals from photoreceptor cells in an antagonistic manner. The opponent-process theory suggests that there are thr ...

theory of vision. The “Natural Color System” is widely used in

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

Yellow (Munsell)

The color defined as yellow in the

Munsell color system In colorimetry, the Munsell color system is a color space that specifies colors based on three properties of color: hue (basic color), chroma (color intensity), and value ( lightness). It was created by Professor Albert H. Munsell in the first ...

(Munsell 5Y) is shown at apex of color wheel. The ''Munsell color system'' is a

color space A color space is a specific organization of colors. In combination with color profiling supported by various physical devices, it supports reproducible representations of colorwhether such representation entails an analog or a digital represent ...

that specifies

color Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...

s based on three color dimensions:

, value (

), and chroma (color purity), spaced uniformly in three dimensions in the elongated oval at an angle shaped Munsell

color solid A color solid is the three-dimensional representation of a color model, an analog of the two-dimensional color wheel. The added spatial dimension allows a color solid to depict an added dimension of color variation. Whereas a two-dimensional ...

according to the

logarithmic scale A logarithmic scale (or log scale) is a way of displaying numerical data over a very wide range of values in a compact way—typically the largest numbers in the data are hundreds or even thousands of times larger than the smallest numbers. Such a ...

which governs

human perception Perception () is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the presented information or environment. All perception involves signals that go through the nervous system ...

. In order for all the colors to be spaced uniformly, it was found necessary to use a color wheel with five primary colors—red, yellow, green, blue, and purple. The Munsell colors displayed are only approximate as they have been adjusted to fit into the sRGB gamut.

Yellow (Pantone)

The color that is called yellow in

Pantone Pantone LLC (stylized as PANTONE) is a limited liability company headquartered in Carlstadt, New Jersey. The company is best known for its Pantone Matching System (PMS), a proprietary color space used in a variety of industries, notably graphic ...

is displayed at right. The source of this color is the "Pantone Textile Paper eXtended (TPX)" color list, color #C, EC, M, PC, U, or CP—Yellow.

Yellow (Crayola)

The color yellow in

Crayola Crayola LLC, formerly the Binney & Smith Company, is an American manufacturing company specializing in art supplies. It is known for its brand ''Crayola'' and best known for its crayons. The company is headquartered in Forks Township, Pennsylvan ...

crayons is displayed at right. Yellow was one of the original Crayola colors formulated in 1903.

Tints of yellow

Pastel yellow

At right is displayed the color pastel yellow .

Light yellow

Displayed at right is the

web color Web colors are colors used in Web design, displaying web pages on the World Wide Web, and the methods for describing and specifying those colors. Colors may be specified as an RGB color model, RGB triplet or in hexadecimal format (a ''hex triple ...

light yellow.

Cream

Displayed at right is the web color cream, a pale

tint In color theory, a tint is a mixture of a color with white, which increases lightness, while a shade is a mixture with black, which increases darkness. Both processes affect the resulting color mixture's relative saturation. A tone is produc ...

of yellow.

Lemon chiffon

Displayed at right is the web color lemon chiffon. Lemon chiffon is a color that is reminiscent of the color of

lemon The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China. The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culin ...

chiffon cake A chiffon cake is a very light cake made with vegetable oil, eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, and flavorings. Being made with vegetable oil, instead of a traditional solid fat such as butter or shortening, it is easier to beat air into the batt ...

Additional definitions of yellow

Blonde

At right is displayed the color blonde .

Xanthic

The color xanthic is shown at right. The color "xanthic" is derived from "xantho" (meaning yellow or golden), from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

ξανθός and "ic" (meaning of or pertaining to), from the Ancient Greek adjectival suffix -ικός. The color "xanthic" is the color of

Xanthine Xanthine ( or ; archaically xanthic acid; systematic name 3,7-dihydropurine-2,6-dione) is a purine base (genetics), base found in most human body tissues and fluids, as well as in other organisms. Several stimulants are derived from xanthine, incl ...

and

Xanthate 150px, Sodium salt of ethyl xanthate Xanthate usually refers to a salt with the formula (R = alkyl; M+ = Na+, K+), thus they are the metal-thioate/''O''-esters of dithiocarbonate. The name ''xanthates'' is derived from Ancient Greek ''xanthos'' ...

, both of which are xanthic acids.

Unmellow yellow

The color unmellow yellow is shown at right. The color ''unmellow yellow'' was formulated by

in 1990. The color "unmellow yellow" is a similar fluorescent yellow to laser lemon but the color is brighter. In crayons, the color may appear slightly orange, though the computer display can appear more pale depending on one's monitor. The color is supposed to be

fluorescent Fluorescence is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation. It is a form of luminescence. In most cases, the emitted light has a longer wavelength, and therefore a lower photon energy, tha ...

, but there is no mechanism to display fluorescence on a flat computer screen.

Lemon

Lemon is a color somewhat resembling yellow and named after the

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

. The color ''lemon'' is a representation of the color of the outer skin of a lemon. The first recorded use of ''lemon'' as a color name in

was in 1598.

Maximum yellow

Maximum yellow was a Crayola crayon color from 1926 to 1944.

Mellow yellow

The color mellow yellow is displayed at right. ''Mellow yellow'' was first used as a color name in English in 1948 when it was formulated as one of the colors on the Plochere color list. The source of this color is the ''Plochere Color System'', a color system formulated in 1948 that is widely used by

interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordina ...

ers.

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter, and record producer. He developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelic rock and world mus ...

's album ''

Mellow Yellow "Mellow Yellow" is a song written and recorded by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. In the US, it reached No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Outside the US, "Mellow Yellow" peaked at No. 8 in the UK in early 1967. Content The song was ru ...

'', named after the song "

", was popular during the

Summer of Love The Summer of Love was a social phenomenon that occurred during the summer of 1967, when as many as 100,000 people, mostly young people sporting hippie fashions of dress and behavior, converged in San Francisco's neighborhood of Haight-Ashbury. ...

in 1967.

Royal yellow

At right is displayed the color royal yellow. The color ''royal yellow'' is a representation of the color of the robes worn by the

Emperor of China ''Huangdi'' (), translated into English as Emperor, was the superlative title held by monarchs of China who ruled various imperial regimes in Chinese history. In traditional Chinese political theory, the emperor was considered the Son of Heave ...

. The first recorded use of ''royal yellow'' as a color name in English was in 1548. Other names for this color are Chinese yellow and imperial yellow.

Gold (golden)

Gold, also called golden, is a

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

color which is a representation of the color of the element

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

. The web color ''gold'' (also referred to as ''orange-yellow'') is sometimes referred to as golden to distinguish it from the color ''

metallic gold Gold, also called golden, is a color tone resembling the gold chemical element. The web color ''gold'' is sometimes referred to as ''golden'' to distinguish it from the color ''metallic gold''. The use of ''gold'' as a color term in traditio ...

''. The use of ''gold'' as a color term in traditional usage is more often applied to the color "metallic gold". The first recorded uses of ''golden'' as a color name in

were in 1300 to refer to the element gold and in 1423 to refer to

blonde Blond (male) or blonde (female), also referred to as fair hair, is a hair color characterized by low levels of the dark pigment eumelanin. The resultant visible hue depends on various factors, but always has some yellowish color. The color can ...

hair.Maerz and Paul ''A Dictionary of Color'' New York:1930 McGraw-Hill Page 195

Cyber yellow

The color cyber yellow is displayed at right. The source of this color is the "

Textile Paper eXtended (TPX)" color list, color 14-0760 TPX—Cyber Yellow.

Safety yellow

Safety yellow is one of the standard high-visibility safety colors defined by

ANSI The American National Standards Institute (ANSI ) is a private non-profit organization that oversees the development of voluntary consensus standards for products, services, processes, systems, and personnel in the United States. The organi ...

standard Z535, which specifies standards for safety and accident prevention information. It is often used on

hazard symbol Hazard symbols or warning symbols are recognisable symbols designed to warn about hazardous or dangerous materials, locations, or objects, including electric currents, poisons, and radioactivity. The use of hazard symbols is often regulated by ...

warning sign A warning sign is a type of sign which indicates a potential hazard, obstacle, or condition requiring special attention. Some are traffic signs that indicate hazards on roads that may not be readily apparent to a driver. While warning traffi ...

guard rail Guard rail, guardrails, or protective guarding, in general, are a boundary feature and may be a means to prevent or deter access to dangerous or off-limits areas while allowing light and visibility in a greater way than a fence. Common shapes ...

s, dangerous equipment, and some

high-visibility clothing High-visibility clothing, sometimes shortened to hi vis or hi viz, is any clothing worn that is highly luminescent in its natural matt property or a color that is easily discernible from any background. It is most commonly worn on the torso and ...

and

personal protective equipment Personal protective equipment (PPE) is protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury or infection. The hazards addressed by protective equipment include physical, elec ...

. The definition is mirrored in

British Standard British Standards (BS) are the standards produced by the BSI Group which is incorporated under a royal charter and which is formally designated as the national standards body (NSB) for the UK. The BSI Group produces British Standards under the a ...

BS 381C and

Australian Standard Standards Australia is a standards organisation established in 1922 and is recognised through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Australian government as the primary non-government standards development body in Australia. It is a c ...

AS2700 (where it is known as golden yellow). In 1937, it was determined that safety yellow was the best color to be noticed by the human brain; as a result, the paint color of all

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

school buses was changed from orange to safety yellow (see also

school bus yellow School bus yellow is a color that was specifically formulated for use on school buses in North America in 1939. Originally officially named National School Bus Chrome, the color is now officially known in Canada and the U.S. as National School ...

Bright yellow (Crayola)

Displayed at right is the color Bright yellow (Crayola). It is the main color on

Indian 200-rupee note The Indian 200-rupee note (₹200) is a denomination of the Indian rupee. After the 2016 Indian banknote demonetisation, the new currency notes were announced by the Reserve Bank of India: ₹2,000, ₹500, ₹200, ₹100, ₹50, ₹20 and ₹10 ...

Greenish Yellow

Displayed at right is the color greenish yellow. It is the main color on

Indian 20-rupee note The Indian 20-rupee banknote (20) is a common denomination of the Indian rupee. The current 20 banknote in circulation is a part of the Mahatma Gandhi Series. The Reserve Bank introduced the 20 note in the Mahatma Gandhi Series in August 2001. ...

Chartreuse yellow

The first recorded use of ''chartreuse'' for the color that is now called ''chartreuse yellow'' in American English was in 1892.Aloys John Maerz; Morris Rea Paul (1930) ''A Dictionary of Color'', p. 192, New York: McGraw-Hill In the book ''Color Standards and Color Nomenclature'' (1912), "Chartreuse Yellow" is listed and illustrated.

Mindaro

Displayed at right is the color mindaro. The first use in English of the color name ''mindaro'' was in 2001, when it was formulated as one of the colors on the Xona.com Color List.

Pear

Pear is a desaturated chartreuse yellow color that resembles the color of the exterior surface of Anjou or Bartlett

pear Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the family Rosaceae, bearing the p ...

Olive

Olive is a dark shade of yellow typically seen on

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...

s. Shades of olive, such as

olive drab Olive is a dark yellowish-green color, like that of unripe or green olives. As a color word in the English language, it appears in late Middle English. Shaded toward gray, it becomes olive drab. Variations Olivine Olivine is the typical ...

or OD green, are frequently used for

camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the ...

, or by the military in general. The

of olive is

light blue The first use of "light blue" as a color term in English is in the year 1915. In Russian and some other languages, there is no single word for blue, but rather different words for light blue (, goluboy) and dark blue (, siniy). The ancient Gree ...

Army olive

The color ''army olive'' or "''army green''": has been used in militaries since at least World War II, and possibly before, though the precise tint varies considerably between and within different nations. Despite many sources claiming olive being darkish yellow, the word "olive" has often been associated with green, which leads to many yellow colors being accidentally misclassified. See

and

olive green Olive is a dark yellowish-green color, like that of unripe or green olives. As a color word in the English language, it appears in late Middle English. Shaded toward gray, it becomes olive drab. Variations Olivine Olivine is the typical ...

for other possible shades of "army green".

Green earth

Displayed at right is the color ''green earth''. It is also known as ''terre verte'' and ''Verona green''. It is an inorganic

pigment A pigment is a colored material that is completely or nearly insoluble in water. In contrast, dyes are typically soluble, at least at some stage in their use. Generally dyes are often organic compounds whereas pigments are often inorganic compo ...

derived from the minerals

celadonite Celadonite is a mica group mineral, a phyllosilicate of potassium, iron in both oxidation states, aluminium and hydroxide with formula . It crystallizes in the monoclinic system and usually forms massive aggregates of prismatic crystallites or in ...

and

glauconite Glauconite is an iron potassium phyllosilicate ( mica group) mineral of characteristic green color which is very friable and has very low weathering resistance. It crystallizes with a monoclinic geometry. Its name is derived from the Greek () m ...

.Green earth
Pigments through the Ages. www.webexhibits.com. Retrieved 29 August 2016.

Feldgrau yellow

''Feldgrau'' (field grey) was the color of the field uniform of the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

from late 1907 until 1935, and the East German NVA armies. ''Feldgrau yellow'' was the first shade under the name of "feldgrau", while the second one was more greenish in color. Metaphorically, ''feldgrau'' used to refer to the armies of Germany (the

Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (german: Deutsches Heer), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the l ...

and the Heer rmycomponent of the ''Reichswehr'' and the ''Wehrmacht'').

References

{{Color topics